Preliminary Injunction Against Florida’s HB 3

A federal judge has blocked Florida’s HB 3, a law concerning youth access to social media. Judge Mark Walker from the U.S. District Court in Tallahassee stated that the law infringes on First Amendment rights related to free speech.

Walker’s decision on Tuesday temporarily halts the implementation of HB 3, as requested by the trade associations NetChoice and the Computer and Communications Industry Association, while a lawsuit unfolds.

“This ruling reinforces that the government cannot regulate or censor online expression,” Walker noted. He emphasized that, similar to other Americans, Floridians should be free to engage with authentic speech without governmental interference over what they can say, share, or view online.

He added that it’s crucial for lawmakers to pursue genuine constitutional alternatives that uphold family privacy and freedom of expression.

Jeremy Redfern, the spokesperson for Florida Attorney General James Usmier, commented that platforms cannot claim constitutional rights over their services. He mentioned that Usmier’s office plans to appeal the ruling to the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

The HB 3 legislation aimed to bar users under 14 from using social media. Additionally, it mandated that anyone under 16 must secure parental approval to create an account. While the law was set to take effect on January 1, it has now been paused pending the lawsuit.

Interestingly, NetChoice, which represents various social media platforms, has previously secured injunctions against similar laws in Utah and California that similarly limit social media access for minors.

In his ruling, Walker acknowledged parents’ concerns about their children on social media, while ensuring that they could resort to other legal provisions for added protection.

However, some industry representatives have not addressed stipulations within the laws that require social media companies to remove the accounts of youths at the request of their parents.